The Expat Condo Rental Guide: Mont Kiara
Nobody knows when it started, but Mont Kiara today is the unofficial hub for expats living and working in Kuala Lumpur long-term.
It’s easy to understand why: Mont Kiara is affluent and well-connected to KL’s highways while itself being very self-contained, with lots of malls and restaurants serving western and local food right next to each other. And as pictured above, there are tons of high end condo options.
This guide provides an overview of what tenants can expect from renting a condo in Mont Kiara so you can decide if it’s the right place for you.
Here’s how we’ll break it down:
- The geography of the Mont Kiara area
- Average condo rental prices
- Seven condo recommendations
- Six advantages of living here
Let’s begin.
Mont Kiara’s general geography
The main thing about Mont Kiara: getting in and out, and around is only practical by car.
The closest train stations are the Segambut KTM and Pusat Bandar Damansara MRT stations, which are still 4 and 7km away, so you still need to take a car to the stations.
For those who drive, Mont Kiara is an excellent spot thanks to the NKVE.
Mont Kiara and the NKVE
The New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) is a highway that cuts through Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and is the primary means of commuting in KL
Mont Kiara is one of the many exits along the NKVE, and because of that, those who live here will find it easy to drive to anywhere in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, including:
- Sri Hartamas: 8 minutes
- Bangsar: 11 minutes
- Mutiara Damansara: 12 minutes
- Bandar Utama: 13 minutes
- Mid Valley City: 13 minutes
- Petaling Jaya: 22 minutes
- Kuala Lumpur city centre: 19 minutes
So if you choose to stay here, be prepared to get your own transport or use our e-hailing apps of choice Grab and inDrive (in fact check out our FAQs on living in Malaysia as an expat).
Be ready for the traffic
Traffic in and out of Mont Kiara gets pretty heavy in the mornings and evenings.
You’ll save a ton of time in the long run (not to mention less wear and tear on your car) by picking apartments closer to the edges of Mont Kiara like Agile Mont Kiara.
We should add that the traffic isn’t terrible by Kuala Lumpur standards - just something to keep in mind, and if your friends stay in Mont Kiara, forgive them for being ten minutes late!
Average condo rental prices in Mont Kiara
We’ve done our best to pull figures from rental prices across multiple types of condo properties, but as Mont Kiara is an affluent area popular with expat families, rental rates will reflect this.
Generally speaking, here’s what you should expect to pay to rent a condo in Mont Kiara.
💡Disclaimer: These estimates were obtained from LemmyAdvisor. our proprietary rental pricing estimator, and were last updated based on data as of 11 June 2024.
We're committed to keeping information on this page as current as possible, and recommend readers use LemmyAdvisor for the most accurate results.
7 high end condo options around Mont Kiara
While there are ample options for high end condos in Mont Kiara, the condos we recommend below have been personally inspected by our team of professionals (humans, not beavers).
Any of these condos are a great option for expats relocating to Malaysia alone or with a family.
1. Agile Mont Kiara
Number of units: 813
2. Arcoris SOHO
Number of units: 366
3. MK 28
Number of units: 460
4. Tiffany Kiara
Number of units: 399
5. Pavillion Hilltop @ Mont Kiara
Number of units: 621
6. Residensi 22
Number of units: 534
Note: Walking distance of Garden International School and 163 Retail Park.
7. Sefina Mont Kiara
Number of units: 245
For more info on any of these condos, get in touch with us and we’ll do our best to help 🙂
6 advantages of renting and living in Mont Kiara
While we admit Mont Kiara is not the most budget or public transport friendly location in Kuala Lumpur, it makes up for it in other areas.
Location and Connectivity
Mont Kiara enjoys strategic access via major highways like NKVE, DUKE, Kerinchi Link, and Penchala Link, connecting it seamlessly to Sri Hartamas, Damansara, KL city center, and Bangsar.
You’ll live within arms length of green spaces
Mont Kiara is just a few minutes away from several of KL’s well known green spaces.
Residents benefit from Bukit Kiara's expansive greenery for activities like jogging and cycling, complemented by Taman Rimba Kiara TTDI's diverse birdlife.
In addition to that, you also have access to:
- Perdana Botanical Garden
- Sri Hartamas Park, and
- Orchid & Hibiscus Gardens
The best way to enjoy the beauty of nature is to know you can go to a mall once you’re bored of the beauty of nature.
You have access to lots of malls
Mont Kiara has tons of great malls, and if you like artsy-fartsy stuff, Publika will be your third home.
If you enjoy good food, 163 Retail Park will be your final resting place.
Those two are our personal favourites, but you have even more mall to choose from in Mont Kiara:
- 1 Mont Kiara
- Solaris Mont Kiara
- Plaza Mont Kiara
- Plaza Arkadia
- Damansara City Mall
- The Waterfront, and
- Hartamas Shopping Centre
In fact, the density of malls in Mont Kiara is so high it is impossible to die of boba tea deficiency.
You’ll never have to work out without AC
For those who enjoy synchronizing their sweating, Mont Kiara is home to a lot of boutique fitness studios including:
You know where else you’ll find a gym with AC, friendly folks, and decent equipment?
Literally any of the condos in our list 😛
A diverse expat community
Mont Kiara hosts a vibrant expatriate community from Japan, Korea, France, Spain, Nigeria, USA, Britain and…well you get the picture.
The Mont Kiara Expat group on Facebook currently has 13,000 members! Statistically, you’d have to be the most anti-social expat on Earth to not make any friends out of that bunch!
Food from all over the world
Thanks to its expat community, you have restaurants serving all sorts of cuisines in Mont Kiara.
Like Middle Eastern food? Head over to the Royal Bedouin Restaurant in Mont Kiara.
Prefer Mediterranean flavours? Visit Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar in Mont Kiara.
High end Chinese food? Go to Fat Fook Inn in Mont Kiara (no jokes about the name).
Japanese food? Spin in a circle and throw a rock in any direction in Mont Kiara and you’ll hit a decent ramen and sushi spot.
Whenever the chefs get bored, they just make a new fusion.
You live close to two top international schools
Which came first, the expat family or the international school?
It’s a question that keeps us up most nights, but point is that Mont Kiara is home to two extremely prestigious private educational institutions:
This makes Mont Kiara almost a no-brainer for many expat families since it answers the question of how to accommodate their children’s education.
